Day 2 - Arrive at Manali

June 7th, 2022

The drive to Manali was SLOW!!  We had bad visibility, busy roads still (though bit less crazy as the hours got later) and darkness.  Add in the hills, curves (most blind) and more aggressive driving, especially by the big busses and things took on a surreal effect that was almost comical at times.

We could barely manage 20 mph much of the time, but we did manage to stay together as a group more in the mountains.

By now the 3 of us in the car had talked ourselves out and started to just make comments on the drivers and some other things we were seeing.

We saw mostly the same stuff all night.  We did another coffee/tea stop going up one side of a pass (around 2:00 a.m.) and another coming back down (around 4:30 a.m.).  The first was again at a tin shack, the second though was a larger permanent structure.

Early A.M. tea stop (0:24)

At this point the road became heavily under construction (they are building a new freeway like road surface - wider, new bridges, tunnels to bypass places and even elevating many sections higher up) which slowed us down even more.

We stopped for breakfast about 7:00 a.m.  A few people had caught a few moments of sleep in the car, but most of us were unable to sleep in a moving car.

Breakfast Stop (1:22)

After breakfast we had about 12 miles left to drive into Manali and to the hotel.  This took over an hour due to insane traffic crawling along at a near standstill at times and even seemed to be lost a few times.  Finally reached the hotel which appears to be a really nice place.

Panoramic view from the hotel entry landing of Manali.

The hotel (Ashapuri Village) had a short traditional greeting and everyone received as a gift a scarf and hat of the local style, though I was never given any background on the ceremony.

Hotel Arrival (0:19)

We next sat around while we were all checked into our rooms which did take a bit of time as they had to validate documents and record all kinds of passport and other data and pair most up into rooms (which caused a bit of tension at first with a few).

Waiting to check in (0:09)

I lucked out and got a room by myself as we had an odd number of riders and for some reason I was not paired with any of the others.  Not sure if this will hold out for the rest of the trip or was just due to the fact that the 3 Austrian riders had chosen to buy plane tickets and fly up instead of driving and were supposed to arrive later in the day.

Once in the room I organized my bags again, made a quick video and then took a 1.5 hour nap, which really did not help much, and might have made me more tired!

Manali Hotel (3:31)

Once I awoke I went over to have lunch at the hotel restaurant where we had a decent meal and then we all went down to the lower grounds to check out the bikes which were already onsite.  We then all got geared up (or at least some gear) and did a test ride so we could check out the bikes we picked out and make sure they worked, get our first experience with riding in traffic, fuel the bikes up so they were ready for the morning and stop and do some shopping as a few needed things, including one guy who needed to buy a helmet as he did not bring one with him. (He had actually been hiking in Nepal for 2 weeks just prior to coming to India, so makes sense not wanting to pack a helmet along with him for his 1.5 month long trip to the subcontinent region.)

The Royal Enfield Himalayan bikes await.

Many also loaded up some of their gear to test tie down strategies and such to see if they would work well for the next day.  I was one of those.

We grouped up at the hotel lobby area on the bikes and then headed up the road and onto the city streets.  It was quite nuts for a bit, but we all quickly got used to the traffic by the time we stopped for fuel just a few miles down the road.

We started off to go to a bike shop across town, but after about 30 minutes we pulled over to the side of the road.  Seems that the group had gotten split and the guy who really needed the shop was not with us anymore.  So we sat along the road while our lead rider rode back along the route to see if he could find the guy.  After about 10 minutes he returned, unsuccessful, so we headed back to the hotel as a group again.

Waiting for our lost rider.

Along the way back we did find the guy though as he was still riding along various roads trying to find us.  So we stopped at another shop so he could get a helmet, even though it was not as nice of a place as the other one they had planned to take him.

We then rode over to stop at another market place so people could buy other supplies, but the guy overseeing the parking lot would not allow us to park there.  So it was decided to just return to the hotel. (A few guys later went out on their own and found places to get what they wanted.)

Overall the bike rode well, my camera gear bag strapped down okay on the rear seat/luggage rack, but will need to keep an eye on it once roads get rougher.  The bungy cords worked nicely for my tank bag. (I had forgot to bring the actual straps that belong to the bag, they are still on my bike back in the US!)

I did have the team mechanic fix both my mirrors though.  One was loose and would not stay set and the other had a bent arm so could not get it set to see anything but the road surface alongside the bike.

I next went back to room and got changed out of the riding gear and into my street clothes, what I will call my camp clothes from now on.  Then I met up with some of the guys down on the lower lawn area where we sat around and talked to burn time.  I did finally get the wi-fi to work while sitting there so was able to update FB finally with what had happened up till then.

Mark, Simon and Robert and I (Clay not shown),
 having a chat while waiting.

I then decided to go up and repack all my bags again to prepare for the bike trip, moving stuff I did not need on the bike into the "camp" bag which would go on the support truck and figuring out where I wanted things stored on the bike (had the camera bag, tank bag, small backpack strapped on top of camera bag, and pockets of my jacket).

Went down for dinner at 8:00 p.m. but was not that hungry having eaten too much in the last 48 hours.  Then we all met down on the lawn at the tables for a rider meeting with the team leaders.

Here we got the details on when to be ready to leave, what time breakfast would be served and such.  They also gave us all several bags of nuts/berries to use as emergency food in case we would get stranded somewhere due to weather or road blockages that would prevent us from reaching camp or a hotel. (I carried one bag on bike, rest went in camp bag).

We also discussed how the ride would be run, how the lead and tail riders would work, and that we all did not need to stay together but could stop as needed for our own reasons and they would have a rider at any turns to make sure we all headed in right direction.  They also discussed how we would refuel and that the truck would have bottled water on it we should grab each morning to take on bike and could grab refills at some of our stops.

We then all headed back to our rooms to get some sleep, though I first exchanged some money with the tour leader so I had at least some local currency. ($35 which was 2,600 some Rupee).  Once in the room I repacked to include the food bags and changed a few other things around and then laid out clothes for the morning.

Manali at night (0:23)

I then spent about 2 hours catching up this journal while I kept trying to nod off.  Finally finished it and am heading to bed now!!

Test Ride Route (19km/12 miles) roundtrip

******More Day 1 & 2 Photos******

Day 1 - Get to Manali

June 6th, 2022

Woke up at 6:30 a.m. even though I had an 8:00 alarm set.  So I stayed in bed and dozed in and out till about 7:30 a.m.  Decided at that point to just get up and take a shower.

Good morning from Delhi (3:39)

Looked up the hotel restaurants and the lobby place had an included breakfast buffet, so around 8:00 a.m. I went down and grabbed a table to eat something.

I was seated over in a corner and while I was getting food another guy was seated at table next to me. (both at 2 seat tables).  We said a simple good morning and both ate our breakfast.

I cannot recall what prompted it, but we eventually started a conversation.  He was a manager for a development team for a company (ABB) that works in the energy sector I believe.  He lived in San Jose, but travels a lot including to India, which was where he was also born and raised.  He had left 20 years back after his schooling to work.

Was a fun conversation about various things and eventually he asked to connect on LinkedIn, so I helped him find my profile on his phone. I could not get online with mine, so will have to accept his request later when I return home as I doubt I will use LinkedIn while in India at any point.

We both finished eating about the same time.  He had a car coming to pick him up to go to some meetings in the city.  He had arrived a day early though and spent the previous day doing a trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, which he said cost him about $130 dollars for the full day.  I might have to look into doing something like that at the end of my trip when I am back in Delhi for a few days.

Afterwards I went back to my room and packed up everything.  I then got the journal caught up until it was time for me to check out of the room at 11:00 a.m.

I had bumped into Robert, another rider from Australia that I am friends with on FB earlier, so I knew that he and a few others would be meeting in the lobby around 11:00 a.m. as well.

The meeting with the tour leaders was at 12:30 p.m., so figured I would hang out in the bar till then.

While waiting for the elevator on my floor I met up with Simon, another rider from Australia.  He had saw my riding boots and all the gear bags and inquired if I was on the trip.   We had conversed a few times on Facebook in the group that was setup for our trip.  He decided to join me in the bar after we checked out.

Once we met in the bar he wanted to get a drink.  He ordered a beer and got me a Coke (I still lacked any local money at this time) and we talked for a bit.  After a bit Robert found us (I had posted on the FB group that we were in the bar) but he was looking to wait someplace other than the bar to avoid the temptation to have a drink this early. 

Simon went off to have a smoke after a bit and when he returned he said that a large group of riders was in the enclosed patio area of the restaurant.  So we both took a quick visit to the toilet while the other watched our gear, then went over to the restaurant patio where nearly everyone else was already gathered.

Met the 3 Austrians, but did not talk much with them.  Found Robert there and also met Milos, another FB group member I had talked with in the weeks prior to the trip.  He introduced himself to Simon and I.

Had another Coke (guess they were being paid for by the tour) and then we all just sat around and talked about random stuff.  Andy introduced himself and he was also with Mark, another FB friend that I had spoken to a few times about the trip in the months leading up to it.

Met most the others, but did not get much background on them at this time.

The final rider arrived at last.  Jerry is an American, but lives in Thailand.  Shortly after that Rahul, the owner of the tour company arrived with his team.  He talked a little about the trip and had us all go round and introduce ourselves to the group and handed out maps printed on a heavy vinyl to carry with us of the route.  At this time I found out that the 3rd American on the trip was also from Arizona (Prescott).

We then had lunch and continued talking while we all started to take our turn sitting down with Rahul to take care of the final money payments and getting copies of documents to him.

Gang is all here (0:15)

Once we were all done with the official stuff, we gathered our stuff and went outside to load up the 6 taxi's that would take us to Manali.  There were 3 riders in each taxi plus the tour team in another.

I picked the cab with Mark and Andy (who were friends back in the UK where they were from).

Once all the bags were loaded, filling the back end of the Toyota Innova (a very common taxi vehicle here) we got going with our driver Amit. (He was just the taxi driver and was not part of the tour company).  We all regrouped on the side of the road outside the hotel grounds and then left for Manali.  It was roughly 3:00 p.m.

First part was to get out of Delhi.  We went round and round and I was totally lost with no idea what direction we were going in.  Even the main highways were more like side streets back home with businesses along them and side streets turning off them.  And of course the traffic was crazy and not moving very fast.

We eventually came to some better roads that moved us along quickly, but took a lot of slow roads to get to those.

We did get to see lots of Delhi though along those slow roads.  There were good spots, older spots and a few badly rundown spots.  Lots of interesting looking buildings and vehicles and even cows walking down the highway medians and shoulders!

Once on the faster moving roads we started to make good time toward our eventual turn into the mountains.  We would see, pass or be passed by a few of the other cars often, but we also seemed to be on our own a bit too.

Traffic is just crazy.  No logic or pattern to it and no apparent rules of the road except bigger has the right of way in most cases.

At one point we pulled over to the side of the road along the highway near our turn toward the mountains.  Guess he was meeting his brother to trade some merchandise they had for each other though at first we thought he was saying his brother was coming with us as part of the team?  His English was very limited.  Once he arrived though we figured out what they were doing and then of course they had to take selfies with the 3 of us tourists!

Road Stop in Ambala (1:19)

We took the time waiting to handle some roadside bladder relief in the tangle of bushes along the road.  Welcome to India!

Got back on the road after about 10 minutes and then turned off the main highway after a short while and drove into this run down sketchy looking area to get tea from some road side stop the driver knew of.

It was now dark and a thick haze was everywhere. (Mostly dust, but also smoke from burning trash? Was not sure).

We parked along the road with all these tents and tin shacks, each selling food, beverages and snacks.  India's version of a convenience store? Had seen them in other areas too.  [We would continue to see them, was quite normal, especially in the lesser developed regions to offer travelers a means to eat/drink and even rest in many of them.]

Lots of people were standing or walking around the area as well.  The driver walked down a few stalls to get the tea while the 3 of us stood outside the car talking and watching the other people, some which were a bit scary looking, and also the random traffic of trucks, busses and other heavy equipment coming into and out of the buildings along the road behind all the food spots.

Driver came back with small cups of Masala tea which were really good (and HOT!)

Got back into the car and drove a bit more and things were starting to get a bit scary on the road.  The darkness and haze made visibility limited, but the chaos on the road was the same, except now on a 2 lane road with no central divider, so on coming cars were in both lanes and lots of cars and trucks, bikes and even people walking with no lights or anything to alert you to their presence! 

Our driver actually did a pretty good job navigating this mess though, even though there were a few close calls on some passing.

We eventually met up with the rest of the cars and then headed to our dinner stop for the night, a bit of a late dinner as it was already after 8:00 p.m.

We stopped and ate at a Sikh vegetarian restaurant and we all ordered a standard dinner that was traditional in this type of place.  It consisted of a large platter of various sauces and toppings to be eaten with the naan bread they would bring to the table and keep filled.  It was actually all pretty good, only one topping I was not thrilled with, rest were at least good if not great.

Dinner platter

Once we finished eating many of us had to hunt down the toilets (which were outside and in another part of the building...several businesses, including a non-beef serving Burger King, in this mall like complex sharing the single, but very large restroom facility) and then sat or stood around talking amongst ourselves and watching the locals (many who were watching us or coming up to ask questions or get photos).  A few split off to walk around as well.

We were taking an approximately 3 hour dinner break so we could eat and also allow our taxi drivers some time to rest a bit.  Most of us soon ended up sitting at a group of tables in the main plaza area.  A few of the guys found there was a bar up on the 2nd floor and spent about 30 minutes there having a drink.

We eventually loaded ourselves back into the taxi's and started our drive into the foothills of the Himalayas just before midnight.

As the day is changing, will continue the story in the next entry.

Travel Day 2 - Airborne and arrival in India

June 5th, 2022

This day will be spent in the air for the most part.

We were almost 2 hours late in leaving, but quickly headed off to cross the open space between North America and Europe.

The map showed the typical polar route common for shortest distance flight, going over Greenland, Northern Scandinavia and across Russia and Kazakhstan and a small slice of China and into India.

About 2 hours in I saw instead we were on a longer line across the Atlantic to fly over the UK?

I decided to watch a movie (the new Bond film from last year) to pass the time.  During the movie we had our first meal, some kind of chicken, a vegetable/potato thing with some kind of salad and a roll.  Much it was what I would call Indian style food since the flight was mostly people from India.

Once done with movie, the map showed us lined up to cross along the English Channel and over mainland Europe, so now I am thinking Russian airspace might be closed off (due to recent events) so we are taking the longer route to India. [This was in fact the case, travelling across Europe, then skirting the southern shore of the Black Sea over Turkey, crossing Armenia and Azerbaijan to get over the Caspian sea, across Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan then down over Pakistan (and likely a small slice of Afghanistan) till we crossed into India]

Flight route

By now all lights in the cabin were out as most were sleeping.  I put on headphones to have some music in case the 2 year old brat two rows up went on another bloody scream fest like earlier in the flight (what kind of masochist boards a 14 hour flight with a 2 year old???)

Over the next several hours I dozed off and on for short periods, but never really slept.  A snack service came through after a few hours and then again I tried to sleep and through sheer exhaustion and taking off my boots (I was unable to fit my riding boots in checked bag, so was wearing them on flight) I managed some fitful sleep.  Most others went back to sleep or were watching films.

As we got about 3 hours out, I put boots back on and stayed awake by watching another movie (Galaxy Quest), though I think I still zoned out some as I seemed to have missed parts of the movie.  Then the last bit of time as we came into land was used up filling in immigration forms and then just sitting there.  Once on the ground we had some time as we taxied and at that point I started a conversation with the girl on the other side of the empty seat (I was in middle seat section aisle seat, she was on other aisle, but thankfully no one between us, so made flight nicer).

She was actually from a town up in the mountains and knew many of the places I would be riding in and visiting.

Finally arrived at the gate and waited while the plane emptied and was able to get off myself.  Then walked down a long hallway to more hallways where I fixed up my bags and did a short video.

Arrival in India (0:28)

Walked a bit farther and then down a ramp to the health check area, which was not manned, so we all just walked through it to the immigration hall down an escalator.

As a non-Indian citizen, I went to one side of the hall, but both sides had long lines at all counters.

Stood in line for over an hour and was just hoping my E-visa was going to be good (2 other Americans a bit ahead of me had some kind of issue and were taken by the manager to another area). [They had made an error with their E-visa and its validity dates.  The E-visa would become effective upon arrival for 30 days, but you only had 30 days in which to arrive and use it.  They had bought the visa too soon and it was already expired, or at least that is what I can figure based on the over heard remarks and what I read on my own E-visa documents.]

Once at the window I worked past some language issues to get the guy what he needed, they then scanned my finger prints and then passed me into the next hallway after stamping my passport with the now active Visa.

Walked down and around the immigration hall, showed the Visa stamp to a guard and then walked out and into the duty free shopping area on my way to baggage claim.

By the time I reached the baggage area all the bags had been taken off the belt and were sitting on the floor.  Took a few minutes to find mine, it looked okay, so went on over to the Customs exit hall.

There were two entries, and I took the Green (nothing to declare) line and just walked through.  Not even anyone watching (though a few lounging around).

Once out I was looking for signage to the Metro train when I noticed a guy with a sign which had the name of another rider in the group (I knew the name from talking with him on the Facebook group).  I then noticed my own name on the sign in his other hand, so guess they are picking me up!?

We introduced ourselves and then he called over a guy with the car (it was a taxi basically) who walked me out to the vehicle in the lot. Was not a short walk, in hot, humid air, but after the cold plane it felt good to be warm again.

Loaded bags and then was driven the approximately 1 mile to the hotel (Holiday Inn) where he unloaded the bags.  I tipped him $3, not sure if I had too, but figured I would be nice.

Went through a security checkpoint (Had gone through 2 in the car: getting into hotel complex and the hotel parking lot) and into the lobby.

They still had my reservation (I was a bit concerned since I was now about 3 hours past when I was supposed to be there).  Got checked into my 4th floor (out of 5) room and did some quick bag sorting to move stuff around in the bags.

Went back down to buy a water, but no place was open (was just after 1:00 a.m. now)  Went into the bar, but they were now closed, but the guy cleaning up at the bar said he would still sell me a Coke after I asked if there was some place I could get one.

The issue then came up that I had no Indian Rupee on me, only US Dollars. I had not had a chance to  use a money exchange at the airport since the car was waiting.  They were hesitant to take the US money, but finally agreed and we then had to look up the exchange rate and figure out what I owed (around $3.50).  I gave them $4 and said not to worry about it.

Went back to the room and drank it, then changed clothes and relaxed a bit in a room with no lights.  None of the light switches would work, one lamp was on and had a pull cord and the desk lamp was on, but had no visible way to turn it off. [Turns out you need to put your room key in a slot by the door to enable the power in the room.  None of the lights, outlets or the mini-bar fridge worked till you did that.  Never seen that setup before, but guess it is quite common outside the USA.]

Arranged bags a bit more, updated Facebook and then went to sleep around 2:00 a.m. after taking a shower. (It was now Monday the 6th).  

I will pick up the story in the next entry since it is now a new day.

Travel Day 1 - USA to India via Canada

June 4th, 2022

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP....4:00 a.m.

Time to wake up and get ready to head out on a huge and epic adventure.  Today we depart Arizona and head to India to spend 2 weeks riding motorcycles in the Himalaya mountains of Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh.

Took a quick shower, fed the cats and put extra food and water down. (Cat sitters will come every 3-4 days to refill and check on them.)  Final pack and bag check, turn off a few things, unplug some stuff, then sit down and wait.

I have booked a private car service to come pick me up and drive me to the airport and also pick me up when I return.  Not cheap, actually cost a bit more than driving myself and parking, but just less hassle and stress.

Pickup is 5:30 a.m., but car arrived about 5:15 a.m.  So loaded up my 3 bags (Riding gear, camera gear, clothes) and left.

Smooth easy ride down, took 20-25 minutes.  Dropped off right at door for Air Canada at Sky Harbor terminal 3.

Unloaded bags and walked into terminal.  Not been in this terminal in ages, so do not know it's layout.  Took a few seconds to read signs and also saw HUGE lines everywhere.

I had already checked in via the app and printed passes, but had to check my bag.  Was supposed to be a contactless process, but saw no signs or info on how that was to work, so stood in line for almost an hour to get bag checked and they printed new boarding passes for me since they were also checking me in at this line.  First annoyance of the day [and quite a few more are still to come].

I got upstairs, and did a quick pass through security (how did that happen!? Took all of 15 minutes instead of the typical 30-60).  Arrived at gate just a bit prior to boarding.

Boarding started on time, but took ages as not enough bag space.  After how many years and airlines still cannot find a way to stop carry on abuse and assholes that put all their oversize bags in the overhead so 1/3 of the plane has to gate check stuff.

As I got on the attendant told me to take first spot I saw in the overhead, so bag went into row 12 and I sat in row 24.  Lots of people had to eventually go stand in back with bags while plane loaded and then go back up front to check bag and have it loaded under plane.  We got airborne about 30 minutes late.

Take off was smooth and spent some time talking to people in seats next to me (I was in aisle seat as I prefer).  Was a couple from Nova Scotia that winters in AZ, or at least comes down often, heading back north.

An hour into flight and pilot makes announcement that we have been flying in circles around Phoenix due to some plane issue that was of concern.  They managed to resolve it without landing, but now we are another hour behind!

Mostly uneventful flight.  I watched the on screen map (screen barely worked) and charged phone up (using the USB port in center seat as my seat port did not work).  Once charged, put ear buds in and played music for about 3 hours.  Think I nodded off a few times, but just short durations.

Once done with music I tried to read a book on my phone, but not a good way to read and only managed 1 chapter.  So just watched the map and thought about stuff till we arrived in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Landing was very bumpy and was making my nearly empty stomach a bit queasy.  But got on the ground and made it to the gate.

Due to delay's there were 3 people on the flight with tight connections.  The pilot instructed all to stay in seat unless called!  He then called each of the 3 seat numbers up and only then released the rest of us for deplaning.

While I have seen the same issue on US flights, never seen it controlled like that.  Last US flight that this issue came up, everyone stood and blocked aisle while some poor lady had to fight her way through it, and get dirty looks from others, so she could make her flight.  Pilot did announce it, but no one controlled it, so was chaos (typical American attitude of me only and screw you!)

Once off the plane we wandered down an empty hall to a junction that was confusing.  Sign indicated the connection gates, but arrow on sign was pointing the the US destination gates?

Finally just kept going down the hall and eventually reached better signs.  Followed down another hall, then had to have boarding pass for next flight scanned, then more halls, then scanned again to be told what hall to take next.  My hall had me stop at a kiosk to scan passport and then to a guy who took that receipt/scanned boarding pass again, and then sent me down another hallway.

Finally came into the gate area.  First stop was a restroom, then walked up and down to find a good food spot as I was starving.

Not a huge amount of choices.  Went to a place called U Bar and was seated at the bar.  Ordered a burger/fries/coke for a hefty $33 US after tax/tip (Burger was $20 alone).

Was good food though and let me get rid of my hunger.  Talked for a minute or two with guy next to me who was on his way to Cairo (over heard him telling bartender) and I had mentioned I had been there myself many years back.

Once done with lunch, I walked back to far end of gate section to see if I could find a magazine to buy to read on the plane during the long flight to come. Store did not have anything of interest to me.

Walked back the other way past the bar I ate at on way to my gate and there found another shop and was able to pick up a copy of the Economist.  Always a good read and packed with short articles and few ads or photos, so can take a long time to read through it.  Also easy to fold up and stash in bag.

Bit farther down I found my gate.  It was now about 6:00 p.m. and my flight leaves at 9:45 p.m., so found a spot at gate and charged phone and played on the internet a bit.

Gate soon started to fill up with people for the current flight at this gate going to Rome.

I people watched a bit, then went to restroom and found a different seat when I returned.  Spent 2 hours reading magazine till I started to get a headache.

The Rome flight was supposed to leave at 7:00 p.m., but the pilot was inbound on another plane that was late, so they did not board the flight till around 8:00 p.m.

Then they just sat there, and kept calling final boarding.  A few did come running each time, so must have been holding for other delayed connections?  Finally the flight left at 8:45 p.m.

My flights plane was towed over (had been sitting somewhere for 2 hours at least) and we had a delayed departure time now of 30 minutes (10:15 p.m.) But now the crew to clean and prepare the plane was late.  They arrived at 9:45 p.m., so now our departure was pushed to 11:00 p.m.  We finally got in the air about 11:30 p.m. (almost 2 hours behind schedule).

And now that we are at the end of the day, I will continue the narrative in the next days entry.

Booking and preparing

To prepare for such a major trip was an interesting challenge.

After the initial deposit of funds, the rest of the money was to be paid in person when I arrived.  As the months progressed and I was forced to move the deposit to the new trip, there were a few back and forth emails with the tour organizer, but not much was communicated until April of 2022.  At this point a request for 50% of the remaining balance was made to ensure a spot on the trip in June.  A few extra details were communicated, but still not a huge amount of information, which caused some concerns and anxieties.

During the year delay, I had thankfully had the chance to put more funds back for the trip, so at this point I had enough to fully pay for all facets of the trip (tour costs, airfares, hotels and misc. expenses I expected).  I had also done more riding and was pretty comfortable on the bike, so my only real concerns were how I would handle the rougher roads and off-road riding of some areas.  I had also managed to lose a large amount of weight and strengthen my body over the year so felt better about my physical ability to handle and complete the trip.

I had managed to acquire most of the core gear for the ride like a new helmet, proper riding jacket and pants with the protective armor and such, good riding boots and gloves.  I had set about in early 2022 acquiring shirts and pants and other base layer clothing which I would want for riding anywhere, but definitely needed for a trip of this type.  Also grabbed some rain gear and other items to assist with keeping warm in colder climates and staying dry.

Another task was picking up several additional cameras and related gear to better record and document the trip.  Sadly I did not really utilize it all in the way I had hoped as the pace of the tour made it difficult to do some of what I had wanted film wise and some of my ideas were not able to occur due to limitations of camera mounting options and some technical hiccups I had with some of the gear as well that made me choose not to utilize it.

There was also the basic sundry items that would be useful along the way along with hygiene and general health related things.

One of the bigger challenges was all the paper work to get ready for the trip.  Other than booking airfare, the first nights hotel before the trip started and travel insurance, I also had to get an international driving permit, tourist visa for India, and fill out health declarations online and of course have copies of all that made.  Much of it was not too difficult, and was not expensive, just took some time and was always the chance that something would go wrong and cause delays (thankfully nothing did).

My departure date was June 4th, 2022.  I took the Friday, June 3rd off work to have a full day to organize gear, pack and verify I had everything I needed. [Though I did forget a few things as will be noted later].

I had also booked a car service to pick me up on Saturday to take me to the airport.  I had hoped this would be less expensive than paying airport parking for 3 weeks, though in the end due to the very early pickup and late arrival when I came back, the costs were actually a bit higher, but still saved me the hassle of driving and having to worry about something happening to the vehicle while parked at the airport.

With everything ready to go by the end of the day on Friday, and a few last minute Facebook updates on the group setup for our tour and some well wishes from other riders who were either already in India, currently in route or leaving also on Saturday, I went to bed and prepared for my 4am alarm so I could be picked up at 5:30am.

Ride the Himalayas - June 2022

In late 2020 I saw an advertisement on Facebook for a tour company that led people on a 2 week motorcycle ride in the Himalaya mountains of northern India, including along the famed Manali-Leh highway.

I had dreamed of travelling this supposedly challenging and dangerous roadway for nearly 20 years.  While much of the route has now been paved, widened and bridges and tunnels built to bypass some of the crazy stuff, it is still a challenge to travel, even more so by motorbike.

I booked the trip and put down my deposit for June of 2021, thinking the pandemic would have been under control and things would be back to some form of normal.

Sadly this did not occur.  India had some issues getting things under control, as did much of the world, and things were still quite crazy by the time summer of 2021 arrived.  As India still had the borders closed to tourists, I was forced to move my deposit to the June 2022 trip, which probably was a good thing as it gave me another year to get prepared mentally, physically and to acquire more of the gear and supplies I would need for this adventure.

So finally 2022 arrived, the borders opened at the end of February and things were getting easier, and less hassle, so the trip was on.

The following pages will cover the 21 days I spent in travelling to India, and the adventure of getting to the starting point, the actual 2 week ride itself and the travel within India and back home.

The text is what I recorded in a journal each night of the trip, photos I took along the way and some video I recorded.  (Eventually I will have more video of the ride which I will link too, but still several months of editing work to do on that stuff).

I hope you enjoy!

Chris